


this side of paradise

by kathillards



Series: girls like girls [5]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Megaforce
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 22:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5803447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathillards/pseuds/kathillards
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It feels so much different now, deeper and more intimate this close to midnight, standing in a glade that seems carved by mother nature herself. And Gia's never been unsure of anything in her life, at least, not until now. —- EmmaGia</p>
            </blockquote>





	this side of paradise

**Author's Note:**

> written for the prompt _gia/emma + midnight oasis_

It's become a bit of a ritual for them, exploring the forest in their spare time. Gia doesn't hate it as much as she claims, even when she's grumpily kicking branches over on the ground and exclaiming that she doesn't know why Emma likes to take pictures of dead trees.

"They're not dead," Emma protests, snapping a picture of Gia bundled up in her coat and yellow scarf, her beanie lopsided as she glares up at an oak tree. "They're hibernating. Waiting to bloom again."

"They're boring," Gia counters, making a face at the camera. But when Emma looks down at the picture she's taken, Gia's lips are curled in a smile.

"Come on, let's go here," she suggests, shouldering her bag and hiking forward into a new path. "We haven't been down this way before."

"It's getting late," Gia sighs, but she follows after Emma anyway. "Won't your dad worry?"

Emma shakes her head, lifting her camera to take a picture of the darkening sky. "He doesn't get home till midnight, anyway. If you wanna leave, though - "

"No," Gia says decisively, and Emma pauses to glance at her, wishing her heart wouldn't pound so loudly in her chest every time this happens. Gia smiles a little and reaches a hand up to pluck a fallen leaf from Emma's hair.

"We've come this far," she adds lightly, her touch soft even through her gloves. "May as well see what's at the end of the road."

Emma's breath catches in her throat, so she turns her head and looks away. "What are best friends for?" she asks, a weak echo of a statement she's made a million times before, each one hollower than the last. But Gia only smiles and links her arm in Emma's as they walk, boots clicking on the forest floor.

It takes twenty minutes before they see anything that isn't just more trees, and the sun has already sank so low, it's impossible to take pictures without flash anymore. Emma doesn't see the end of their journey before Gia does, too caught up in trying to catch an old sycamore tree at the perfect angle.

"Emma, look!" Gia gasps, moving branches aside to show her what lies ahead. Emma rises to her feet and finds herself staring at a glade, a pond of glistening water at the very center, a veritable oasis in the heart of their forest.

"Oh, my god," she whispers, stepping carefully closer as if she might disturb the peace with one wrong footstep. "It's beautiful. How have I never found this before?"

"We are pretty far out in the forest," Gia points out, looking around at the unfamiliar trees as Emma aims her camera and starts snapping photos. "Do you know our way back, by any chance?"

"Not a clue," Emma laughs, hopping over a patch of growing sunflowers to take more pictures of the pond. "But I have a GPS app on my phone. Come on, stop worrying, let's just enjoy this. You have to admit, this is pretty, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful," Gia agrees, with no hint of reluctance. Emma smiles, pleased, and stands up straight to take a picture of Gia. "Oh, come on, you're looking at _that_ , and you're still taking pictures of me?" Gia laughs, though she smiles for the camera anyway.

"You're beautiful, too," Emma says without even thinking about it as she ducks her head to study her pictures, and then freezes when she realizes what's slipped out of her mouth. "Um."

Gia doesn't say anything for a moment, and when Emma finally looks up, she's still staring at her. "Thanks," she says slowly, softly, as if she doesn't know what to do with the statement. Emma's cheeks warm - she's given Gia compliments before, but it feels so much different now, deeper and more intimate this close to midnight, standing in a glade that seems carved by mother nature herself. And Gia's never been unsure of anything in her life, at least, not until now.

"We can probably head home in, like, ten minutes or something," Emma says quickly, trying to diffuse the tension in the air. "Just let me get some more - "

"Emma," Gia says, moving closer until she's standing right in front of Emma, so she can't look anywhere without her gaze landing on her. " _Emma_ ," again, this time softer, her voice low, her eyelashes fluttering, face so close that Emma can count them all.

"What?" she manages to say, the word coming out breathless and half-trapped in her throat. "I - I need to - take - pictures--"

Her voice trails off into a gasp when Gia kisses her, soft and slow and uncertain, her lips sweet on Emma's. Her camera shakes in her hands, almost dropping to the floor, but she holds onto it, fingers clutching, fumbling, her body moving of its own accord to press ever closer, to keep the kiss going - but Gia breaks it first.

"Emma," she says again, eyes crinkled with confusion and dawning realization, and Emma's heart beating too loud in her chest and her cheeks warm wherever Gia's fingers flutter over them, "Em--"

Emma can't handle hearing her name another time. "Don't do this," she says, backing away quickly, her camera suddenly unwieldy in her clumsy fingers. Gia's face falls, fingers tugging nervously on her scarf -- and nervousness is another new emotion for Gia, Emma knows.

"Don't do this?" Gia repeats, the words soft and _hurt_ , god, when did this oasis turn into a nightmare. "Why not?"

Emma shakes her head, turning to look back at the glade, fumbling to get her camera up to take a picture. "It doesn't matter."

"I think it does," Gia protests, suddenly at her side as she kneels over the pond, and Emma jumps. "Emma, can you look at me?"

She takes a breath, calm and steadying, but her pulse rate doesn't slow and her heart doesn't stop pounding. She looks at Gia, and all she can see is the brightness of her green eyes, count every eyelash, watch the moonlight dancing shadows over her skin. Her words abandon her, falling far away into the pond where she can't reach them anymore.

"You like boys," she manages, her voice a whisper, the words sour on her tongue. "You like boys, you've always liked boys - "

"I like _you_ ," Gia interrupts, and her gaze is so soft, Emma feels like she's on fire. "I like you, Emma, just you. I'm sorry it took me so long - "

"So long?" Emma asks, barely above a whisper, nerves and desire and longing simmering beneath her skin. "How long?"

Gia cracks a half-smile, her lips pink with gloss, bright and beckoning even under the night sky lights. "All my life. I think I didn't realize until I kissed you."

Her heart tumbles around in her chest, somersaults and flips and handstands, all rattling against her ribcage. She forgets how to breathe for a moment, remembers only in time for Gia to cradle her face between her hands and pull her in for another sweet kiss, stealing her breath all over again.

When she pulls back, she murmurs, "I still need to take pictures," with her forehead leaning on Gia's, a breathless giggle bubbling inside her.

Gia rolls her eyes, almost back to normal, but she's smiling widely when she says, "I'll stay," and she doesn't even complain about the dead trees once the entire rest of the night.


End file.
